How many miles will a 1998 Ford Expedition last?
Half of the 310 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1998 Ford Expedition that list mileage came after 109,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 179,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 836 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 310 complaints on the 1998 Ford Expedition that list mileage, the middle half came between 83,000 and 140,000 miles; 169 (55%) came after 100,000 miles, 63 (20%) after 150,000 and 20 (6%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 1998 Expedition last?
The 310 mileages owners gave run from 15 to 308,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 83,630 miles, half at or under 110,000, three quarters at or under 140,000 and nine in ten at or under 180,000; 169 (55%) came after 100,000 miles, 63 (20%) after 150,000 and 20 (6%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1998 Expedition wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 15 miles |
| 25th percentile | 83,630 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 110,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 140,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 180,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 308,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 169 (55%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 63 (20%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 20 (6%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 4,803 NHTSA owner complaints on the Ford Expedition that list mileage came after 82,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Ford Expedition last? →
Common problems with the 1998 Expedition
NHTSA's file holds 836 owner complaints on the 1998 Ford Expedition. Owners named the suspension most often: 144 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 94,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 144 | 28 | 95,000 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 127 | 81 | 110,000 |
| Electrical System | 115 | 61 | 100,000 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 78 | 38 | 111,000 |
| Power Train | 70 | 36 | 118,000 |
Of the 836 complaints, 43 report a crash, 73 report a fire and 32 report an injury (37 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Expedition a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Expedition: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 836 complaints, the 1998 ranks 4th of the 30 Ford Expedition model years from 1997 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1999 (946). The fewest: the 2026 (11).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Expedition | 853 | 238 | 120,000 |
| 1998 (this page) | 836 | 310 | 110,000 |
| 1999 Expedition | 946 | 400 | 98,875 |
| 2000 Expedition | 890 | 441 | 91,000 |
| 2001 Expedition | 578 | 374 | 90,000 |
| 2002 Expedition | 340 | 262 | 83,000 |
| 2003 Expedition | 615 | 463 | 79,850 |
| 2004 Expedition | 297 | 227 | 76,000 |
| 2005 Expedition | 315 | 288 | 74,880 |
| 2006 Expedition | 299 | 262 | 80,000 |
| 2007 Expedition | 215 | 186 | 61,000 |
| 2008 Expedition | 146 | 117 | 62,000 |
| 2009 Expedition | 28 | 20 | 60,000 |
| 2010 Expedition | 58 | 46 | 51,626 |
| 2011 Expedition | 71 | 58 | 55,000 |
| 2012 Expedition | 119 | 85 | 82,000 |
| 2013 Expedition | 92 | 68 | 90,000 |
| 2014 Expedition | 72 | 42 | 90,000 |
| 2015 Expedition | 164 | 109 | 68,000 |
| 2016 Expedition | 217 | 128 | 66,520 |
| 2017 Expedition | 359 | 155 | 77,276 |
| 2018 Expedition | 384 | 131 | 57,000 |
| 2019 Expedition | 531 | 195 | 73,065 |
| 2020 Expedition | 430 | 101 | 63,000 |
| 2021 Expedition | 243 | 41 | 43,000 |
| 2022 Expedition | 117 | 26 | 30,000 |
| 2023 Expedition | 65 | 17 | 38,000 |
| 2024 Expedition | 80 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 Expedition | 38 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2026 Expedition | 11 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Expedition year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Ford Expedition years to avoid →
1998 Ford Expedition recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 7 recall campaigns that name the 1998 Ford Expedition (5 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 06E067000 | Aug 1, 2006 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS |
| 06E060000 | Jun 29, 2006 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| 05V388000 | Sep 7, 2005 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL |
| 00V168000 | Jun 19, 2000 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| 00V073000 | Mar 7, 2000 | TRAILER HITCHES |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1998 Expedition lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1998 Expedition.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 526 of the 836 complaints on the 1998 Ford Expedition give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: EXPEDITION. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: EXPEDITION.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1998 Ford Expedition questions
How many miles will a 1998 Ford Expedition last?
Half of the 310 NHTSA owner complaints on the 1998 Ford Expedition that list mileage came after 109,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 179,000 miles. Of the 310 complaints on the 1998 Ford Expedition that list mileage, the middle half came between 83,000 and 140,000 miles; 169 (55%) came after 100,000 miles, 63 (20%) after 150,000 and 20 (6%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 1998 Expedition that never had one.
What are the most common 1998 Ford Expedition problems?
NHTSA's file holds 836 owner complaints on the 1998 Ford Expedition. Owners named the suspension most often: 144 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 94,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 836 complaints, 43 report a crash, 73 report a fire and 32 report an injury (37 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 1998 Ford Expedition a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1998 is a good or a bad Expedition: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1998 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 836 complaints, the 1998 ranks 4th of the 30 Ford Expedition model years from 1997 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 1999 (946). The fewest: the 2026 (11).
How many recalls does the 1998 Ford Expedition have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 7 recall campaigns that name the 1998 Ford Expedition (5 vehicle campaigns and 2 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1998 Ford Expedition before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1998 Ford Expedition.